Title

DOODLE BRAINS

Problem Scenario

I want to know if doodling helps you remember.

Broad Question

Does doodling help your memory.

Specific Question

What is the impact of doodling while trying to memorize a set of words?

Hypothesis

If someone is allowed to doodle while memorizing something they will be able to remember it easier. It will be easier because they will remember where they doodled and what words were close to the doodles.

Graph of Hypothesis

Variables

Independent Variable: letting them doodle

Dependent Variable: the words being memorized

Variables That Need To Be Controlled:same group of people.

Vocabulary List That Needs Explanation

none

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General Plan

I am going to get about 10 participants then I will give them a set of random words. They will have 1 minute seconds to read the set of words. the next day I will give them a test on the set of words. The day after that I will give them a second test. It will allow them to doodle though.

Potential Problems And Solutions

Someone could be sick. if that is the case the day they come back i will give them a different set of words and a different test.

Safety Or Environmental Concerns

there are none.

Experimental Design

(add the correct headings from the experimental design page before beginning)

Resources and Budget Table

Item	Number needed	Where I will get this	Cost
paper	15	school	0$
ink	?	school	0$

Detailed Procedure

1. I will pick ten people.
2. I will hand them a sheet of white paper with ten words on it.
3. I will give them a minute to study the words in complete silence.
4. I will take the paper away.
5. I will talk to them about life for 30 seconds.
6. I will then ask them which words were there.
7. I will write down how many words they remember.
8. I will wait a day.
9. I will quiz the same people again.
10. I will let the person doodle freely wen they are memorizing the words.
11. The person will get one minute still.
12. I will take away the paper.
13. I will talk to them about life for 30 seconds.
14. I will ask them how many words they remember while doodling.

Diagram

Photo List

1. picture of someone reading words. 2." "3. picture of first test. 4

Time Line

Tuesday March 5 (day 1) Quizzed people without doodling. Took pictures.

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Wednesday March 6 (day 2) Quizzed same people but let them doodle. Took more pictures.

Data Table

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Data Analysis

All Raw Data

Erin-3 out of 10 doodling, 2 out of 10 not doodling.
Carson-5 out of 10 doodling, 4 out of 10 not doodling.
Mia-7 out of ten with doodling, 5 out of 10 not doodling.
Chrissy-5 out of 10 doodling, 3 out of 10 not doodling.
Conner-10 out of 10 doodling, 9 out of 10 not doodling.
Liam-5 out of 10 doodling, 3 out of 10 not doodling.
Allie-5 out of 10 doodling, 7 out of 10 not doodling.
Nate-3 out of 10 doodling, 4 out of 10 not doodling
Jaeden-8 out of 10 doodling, 7 out of 10 not doodling.

Graphs

Photos

, , ,
Results

Conclusion

In conclusion to this project I do not have a definite answer. Most of the data I recorded everyone did better with doodling. However there are two people who did worse with the doodling. I think hat they did worse because maybe the doodling was distracting to them. I think it is safe to say tough that my hypothesis was right that people will do better remembering things if they doodle.

Discussion

The pattern I saw most was that if a person improved or degraded that it was only by one word.

Benefit to Community and/or ScienceIt is a benefit to the science because if my hypothesis is correct then all the teachers will know to allow there kids to doodle. if they allow the kids to do well then they might get better test scores.

Background Research

In a new study, which will be published in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, psychologist Jackie Andradeof the University of Plymouth in southern England showed that doodlers actually remember more than non doodlers when asked to retain tediously delivered information, like, say, during a boring meeting or a lecture. Then 40 people were split up. They all listened to 2 1/2 minutee tape. 20 of them were asked to fill in some of the squares on a piece of graphing paper. Afterward, the papers were removed and the 40 volunteers were asked to recall, orally, the place names and the names of the people coming to the party. The doodlers creamed the nondoodlers: those who doodled during the tape recalled 7.5 pieces of information (out of 16 total) on average, 29% more than the average of 5.8 recalled by the control group.

Why does doodling aid memory? Andrade offers several theories, but the most persuasive is that when you doodle, you don't daydream. Daydreaming may seem absentminded and pointless, but it actually demands a lot of the brain's processing power. You start daydreaming about a vacation, which leads you to think about potential destinations, how you would pay for the trip, whether you could get the flight upgraded, how you might score a bigger hotel room. These cognitions require what psychologists call "executive functioning" — for example, planning for the future and comparing costs and benefits.
Doodling, in contrast, requires very few executive resources but just enough cognitive effort to keep you from daydreaming, which — if unchecked — will jump-start activity in cortical networks that will keep you from remembering what's going on. Doodling forces your brain to expend just enough energy to stop it from daydreaming but not so much that you don't pay attention.

References

Time Magazine Article

Abstract

Every time I would doodle on my paper the teachers would always say “Don’t do that it’s just distracting.” Every time they said that I would always wonder if it did distract me. That’s why I chose this project. Does doodling effect your memory and help you remember things? What I did was I got ten people and gave each of them a paper with ten words on it. The words were completely random. They had to try and remember the words. Then I tested them on how many of the words that they could remember. The next day I gave them the same set of words and did the same things. But this time they were allowed to doodle. My results showed that when they doodled they got better.